On April 18, 2024, New Zealand's Minister of Trade and Agriculture, Hon. Todd McClay, led a delegation to Shanghai Lingang VX warehouse to visit and inspect the temperature-controlled storage, ripening and quality inspection of Zespri kiwifruit in New Zealand, and learn more about Zespri's sales in China. New Zealand's Ambassador to China, Mr. Graeme Morton, Consul General of New Zealand in Shanghai, Mr Ardi Barnard, and Ms Charlotte Austin, Deputy Director General for China Relations of the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, also participated in the visit.

Ivan Kinsella, Vice President of Public Affairs of Zespri Greater China, accompanied the visit and briefed the delegation on the business development of Zespri Kiwifruit in China. "The 2024 New Zealand kiwifruit harvest is expected to be one of the highest seasons ever in Zespri. Demand for Zespri kiwifruit continues to be strong in China, with supply in Chinese mainland expected to increase by around 40% this year compared to the previous season."  

During the visit, Minister McClay tasted the new season of Zespri kiwifruit with great interest and was full of praise for the excellent taste. Minister McClay also commended Zespri Kiwifruit for their great progress in the Chinese market, emphasising: "This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between New Zealand and China, which has been New Zealand's largest trading partner and largest export destination for 10 consecutive years. There has been good news from New Zealand and China, especially in the field of agricultural trade. As a national treasure of New Zealand, I am very pleased to see that more and more Chinese consumers love kiwifruit. Zespri Kiwifruit is an outstanding example of China- New Zealand  trade cooperation, and I look forward to and believe that Zespri will create more pleasant surprises and possibilities in China."

Speaking about Zespri's supply chain in China, Rahul Badge, Vice President of Supply Chain of Zespri Kiwifruit Greater China of New Zealand, who accompanied the visit, introduced to Minister McClay: "Zespri Kiwifruit's remarkable achievements in the Chinese market are inseparable from the strong support of strategic partners. As one of Zespri's most important strategic partners, VS Cold Chain has made a lot of investments in logistics, warehousing, packaging equipment, etc. Together, we built Asia's first kiwifruit automatic sorting and packaging production line, which effectively ensured that fresh kiwifruit was transferred to the national market and safely delivered to consumers. It has played a key role in Zespri's continued expansion of the Chinese market."

Chen Juncheng, General Manager of VX cold chain, also introduced the national layout and operation of VX cold chain to the visiting minister McClay in detail. Since 2016, VX Cold Chain has reached a strategic partnership with Zespri to tailor warehousing management, warehouse processing, ripening, subcontracting and other solutions for Zespri.

It is understood that on March 26, the first refrigerated charter ship "Kowhai" , the first charter of Zespri Kiwifruit of New Zealand this season arrived at Shanghai South Port. So far, five refrigerated charter ships loaded with Zespri kiwifruit have arrived in China. In the 2024 season, a total of 22 chartered ships of Zespri kiwifruit will supply the Chinese market (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), with a total volume of 193,000 tonnes, accounting for 27% of Zespri's global market supply, ranking first of the single country markets. Among them, Zespri SunGoldTM will account for nearly one-third of the global market sales in the Chinese market this year, and Zespri's RubyRedTM , the most recent variety to have plant variety rights, will have 50% of the global market share in the Chinese market. At present, Zespri kiwifruit in the 2024 season has achieved a good start in the Chinese market, with a good overall sales momentum, and sales continue to rise, and it is expected to successfully complete this year's sales target in China!